Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Ebb & Flow: November

The highs and lows of the month.



Perfume:
Sonoma Scent Studio- Forest Walk

Wax:
Butterfly Lane- Ivory Woods

Candle:
Nest- Holiday

Soap:
Bathhouse Soapery- Tea Tree & Peppermint

Lotion:
The Bathing Garden- Ever Night

Scrub:
Candy Panda- Starry Night

Lip Balm:
Dreaming Tree Soap- True Love's Kiss in Misty Mountain

Mascara:
Marc Jacobs

Sheet Mask:
My Beauty Diary- Squalene Restorative Mask

Reading:
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume I- The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson

Watching:
Fireplace Birch Wood Edition on Netflix

Listening:
Carpenter's Christmas, Mannheim Steamroller, Nat King Cole

Dreading:
The holiday season flying by at the speed of light. The girls are so anxious for Christmas to be here and we have so many fun things to do that I always feel like it is here then gone by the time I have fully immersed myself in it. Going to try and enjoy all the little moments this year.

Awaiting:
My birthday and all the fun that December brings. I think 36 will be the best yet.

Hit:
Fox's Glacier Mints

Miss:
Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals. I just didn't find much to ring my chimes for gifts. Did you guys find any bargains?

Low:
A couple things come to mind but I am not going to dwell on them. No lows this month. 

High:
Spending time with my mom for her birthday, my sister for her birthday, NaLonda and her husband, and getting to hangout with my stepdad one morning. Family time. Oh! And watching Fantastic Beasts with Adam and the girls. It was soooo gooooood. And Thanksgiving dinner. Pumpkin pie for breakfast is always a good thing.

How was your November? Did fall end on a high note? Any hits or misses? Highs or lows? 

Monday, November 28, 2016

Candy Panda Scrub: Starry Night


I finally place my first Candy Panda scrub order! Woot! 


Candy Panda restocks periodically and sells out very fast. I caught a Facebook announcement that they were open so I swooped in and grabbed this Starry Night scrub that houses a pink peppermint fragrance and cost $12.00 plus $9.75 shipping. I saw some people got refunded shipping charges but I didn't though maybe that was for larger orders. Mine could have fit easily into a regional A box and shipped for less but came in a pretty huge box. I do know shipping is a bane for most vendors and they end up going flat rate so I am not too picky about it. 


I love the scent and the minty tingle that this scrub leaves behind. The formula is nice and squeaky clean. It rinses off fully and leaves no reside. The texture is mild yet scrubby with a medium sugar grain size. It didn't bubble but exfoliated and foamed nicely. I wouldn't call it an emollient formula, it won't leave your skin moisturized but it will leave it smooth and polished.


I quite enjoy this scrub and it is in my current rotation. I would not hesitate to buy more.


I got two free wax samples which was very nice and appreciated. Elf Sweat (which is a candy fizzy scent) and Spiced Apples & Peaches (which I adore from Candy Panda). Stephanie's tarts throw very well. 

Join the Candy Panda Facebook group or follow along in Instagram to keep posted on openings and restocks. What are some of your favorite Candy Panda scents? I seriously need to get in on some more wax tarts. Love them. 

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Warmed Wax: TBG Victorian Midway & CFTRK Butternut Pumpkin



The Bathing Garden Victorian Midway was a scent I feel in love with earlier in the year when Shannon offered it as part of a circus type collection. It begged to be melted in the fall. So I saved it and then I picked up one more when they became available again. It is a pretty blend of plump pumpkins, caramelized apples and brown sugar with a touch of spice. Mild but delicious it has a medium throw and smells as lovely as it looks. Those stars though. I hope she brings this back next year.


Candles From The Keeping Room Butternut Pumpkin is delicious. Deep and rich yet mellow on the spice, the almond glaze sweetness really takes the typical pumpkin aroma into a new area. One pumpkin threw about medium to medium-strong and I look forward to buying this one again next year. Hoping Carol offers it. 

I am kind of sad the pumpkin season is over for me. I will be melting spiced apples, cranberries, mints, pines and all my Christmas scents from here on out and I do look forward to that though. What are some of your favorite Christmas scents? 

Friday, November 25, 2016

Fall Fun Series Wrap Up: Top 10 Fall Scents



I hope you have enjoyed this Fall Fun Series the past few months. It was great fun meeting new friends, reading more fabulous blogs and pushing myself to blog outside of the box. 

This last Fall Fun Series post features my Top 10 Favorite Fall Scents of 2016:

10. Candles From The Keeping Room Butternut Pumpkin
9. The Bathing Garden Victorian Midway
8. Candles From The Keeping Room Amish Quilt
7. Lasting Scent Candles Spooky Apparitions
6. Lasting Scent Candles Toasted Embers
5. The Bathing Garden Pumpkin Spice
4. Future Primitive Pumpkin Eater
3. Dessa's Homespun Scents Pumpkin Wreath Woods
2. Country lane Keepsakes Picking Pumpkins

 And #1 is a tie. I love Candles From The Keeping Room's Full Moon, but since it has been discontinued, how can I choose something no one can buy anymore? Tears. So for one you (and I) can buy again, it would be Dessa's Homespun Scents October. 


My top candle pick is Bath & Body Works  Pumpkin Woods for cozy woods factor. 

I am thinking of swinging by the old BBW for Black Friday buy 3 get 3 free on candles and using a couple coupons with it. 

What were some of your favorite fall scents? Did you enjoy the Fall Fun Series? Thank you to all the bloggers who joined us! We hope to bring you something exciting again soon.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Candles From The Keeping Room: November 2016 Opening


I knew Carol would be opening Saturday the 12th between 10 and 11am according to her Facebook posts so I was waiting with baited breath and thumb ready for pouncing and scrolling on my phone. And look at what that crazy thumb found at Candles From The Keeping Room. Everything. Beware.... this will be a long one. I focused more on getting Christmas scents and year 'round favorites. She will be opening one more time before the year ends and then will close for a couple months to rest, enjoy the holidays then begin planning for her big opening after the New Year.


Blue Cedar Lavender- A melange of notes comprises this herbal woodsy siren. A downy lavender skims the surface of a magical cedar forest, twinkling with amber and iris. A dream maker.

Spearmint- A sweet Wrigley's spearmint with soft mint chill.

Moroccan Mint- This will be a new staple. My husband's favorite soap is Moroccan Mint by Handmade in Florida and this reminds me of just that. Iced velvet mint leaves, spearmint and a breath of that dark tea leaf. A stunner.


Fresh Picked Strawberry- I can write odes and sonnets and love notes to number the grains of sands but I will just say this. It is my hands down favorite realistic strawberry scent from anyone. Ever. And this is coming from a gal who has grown up smelling ripe berries straight from the field to the market all her life and attended more Strawberry Festivals than I care to count. Repurchase times a thousand.

Strawberry Musk- Fresh Picked Strawberry infused with a lovely vanilla musk airiness. It has been far too long since I have had this on hand. An old favorite.

Pink Sugared Strawberry- I do not recall having a bag of this in the past but I must have tried for it several times. I scored this time. It smells a little on the light side on cold but that could very well change due to paraffin hiding its throw on cold. A perfect blend of pink sugar and FPS.


Strawberry Birthday Cake Fluff- The vanilla cake frosted with marshmallow fluff comes to the fore front the most with the juicy bits of strawberries acting as juicy sweet accents. Looking forward to melting this hunk of yum.


Woodland Foliage- My second time buying this one. Bark and pine and needles and wood with touches of light citrus zest and earthiness. Love. 

Tokyo Nights- About the half dozenth time I brought this one home. Amber musk and plums. Unique and interesting. I love it to pieces.

Merlin's Forest- Going on my third bag of this enchanting incense delight. 

White Cedar Forest- The notes on this one threw me for a loop: black coconut, cardamom, musk, cinnamon, praline and rose. Whoa. Yum. I wanted to melt this and not just do a cold sniff impression. When melted this comes across as a warm and creamy vanilla coconut with sophistication and depth from the cardamom and praline, all this without it being foody but more gourmand. As it melts it takes on this powdery amber woods tone that is just as beautiful. The throw was medium strong in my bedroom. I want this again.

Fig & Cassis- A brilliantly bright blend of sunny citrus, green creamy figs and subtle cinnamon. It reminds me of a high end candle with a Tuscan or Mediterranean vibrance. Bellissima!


Pumpkin Cream Soda- Yasmine and I were eyeing this this last few openings... I think she got hers but I forgot about mine! So when I saw this on Saturday I wagged my tail and plunked it in the cart. Subdued spice and pumpkin with mellow butterscotchy cream soda. I love, love, love Carol's cream soda. 

Spiced Coquito- I fondly remember attending a December wedding where my friend Ivelisse had spiced coquito as wedding favors served in little glass bottles and stoppered with a cork. It was the most heavenly rum infused coconut milk spiced eggnog drink I have ever laid lips upon. When I spied some gals posting about a Spiced Coquito scent that Carol had, my nose begged to try it. The rum leans a little bourbon whiskey with a 100 proof potency. Once melted though, some of that melts away and the creamy coconut eggnog emerges with a rich brown sugar and soft spice swirled within. Once the creaminess burns away the rum comes out to play. The throw is about a medium. I can appreciate it but I probably would not buy it again unless it ends up growing on me.

Vanilla Pumpkin Marshmallow- Delish. 100% creamy pumpkin with a Vanilla Bean Noel depth and richness without any spice. 

Vanilla Custard Filled Gingerbread- A bready and buttery gingerbread with an almost burnt sugar creme brulee crust. One bread slice melted with a medium light throw in the kitchen. Definitely will use two little breads next time. 


Celtic Moonspice- I just love the name of this scent. I remember several years ago when I got into vendor wax, thinking that the name meant it had to be good. And it is if you are a spice lover. And this one overflows abundantly with sweet sweet spice.

Alpine Cheer- Cranberry balsam with a chillier, mountain breeze aroma behind it. I don't necessarily smell mint but when I pull my nose out of the bag from a deep inhale it feels tingly. I quite like this. It makes me think of Alpine Helen, GA when I sniff it. 

Cinnamon & Spruce- Old and dusty curls of rough cinnamon bark with aged, primitive spruce boughs and rosemary twigs. Homespun, rustic Christmas. More herbal than sweet.

Twigs & Berries- My sister, Darby, introduced me to this fragrance when she placed a Can-Do Candles order a couple years back. I vaguely recalled liking it so I decided to try Carol's version. Tart juicy currants that almost have a red grapefruit tang pair with peach and woods. I nice variation on a Christmas theme.  


Christmas Cabin- I picked up a second bag of this because I enjoyed the first one so much. A fairly straight forward blend of cranberry and spice but the bayberry makes it feel a little more earthy and rustic. Cabin nostalgia in full force.

Country Christmas- Never had this one before. Very similar to Christmas Cabin but less bayberry and more apples and oranges and lemon with the spiced cranberries. The bayberry smells more like evergreen as well. A classic Christmas scent. 

Christmas Wassail- Just like the cut crystal bowl of Christmas punch. Cranberry juice, orange juice, mulled then chilled and topped with fat bobbing cranberries and wheels of orange slices. Tart, sweet, festive and a medium to medium strong thrower.


Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy- I finally was quick enough to grab the lil plum booties! Huzzah! This one on my first Christmas favorites from Carol. Christmas trees figure prominently with just a touch of sweet tang from fruits. A wonderful thrower and a forever favorite.

Winter Cabin- This was one I had a few years in the past but missed having on hand. A cedar planked cabin sown into the forested mountainside, birch wood crackling in the hearth and resins smoldering in heartwood. The fire flames twinkle from the wood framed windows and beckon happy hearts to dwell inside. 

Balsam & Citrus- Ahhhh.... my dear, sweet, beloved Balsam & Citrus. I love the evergreen scent in this one. The balsam is sweeter and more buoyant than the peppery pine in DotSPF. The cranberry and oranges are brighter and juicier as well. An all around lighthearted Christmas scent that smells amazing. I would even go as far as to say... are you ready for it.... if I could only have one scent for Christmas it would be this. 


How cute is this Old World Santa?! He is scented in Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and is a gift for someone. Look how cute! He reminds me of a jolly gnome. He came wrapped in plastic then boxed and tied with homespun ribbon., perfect for gift giving.

Next up, free samples!


Orange Chiffon Birthday Cake cuttable, smells like how a full bodied orange cake would taste. 

Miami Vici Cocktail blends strawberry daiquiri with pina colada, but pineapple always throws me off my tart game. We just don't get along.

Tropical Fruits houses both banana and pineapple. Two no notes for me. 

Pear Berry Birthday Cake is a winner for my nose. Bright berries and crisp pear folded into vanilla cream. 


Mediterranean Fig is lovely. Lots of blonde woods, vetiver and velvety plushness.

Champagne Toast (type) is a bubbly and fruity cocktail infused with blackberries and currants. Sweet and pretty.

Apricot Melon Fluff is delicious. Honeydew and peachy tart apricots.

Balance and Glow pulls like a honeyed citrus fruity floral fragrance to me. I like it.


Secret Potion is quite different. The lemony cucumber pulls through the strongest with soft fennel and sweet yuzu backing it up. 

Moscato Pink swirls all sorts of notes out there. Mostly tropical fruits, soft zinfandel and raw coconut rise up to greet me. 

Mulled Wine has my heart. A fiery brew to warm the gullet. It almost has that patchouli darkness that Lush's Hot Toddy has. Maybe not as earthy but definitely a darker aroma along those lines. LOVE. Thank you Mrs. Carol!! This is amazingness. I will be hunting it down come next year.


So I have no right to whine about not getting my Peppermint Meringue. I mean look at this beautiful bounty!! But I did miss it, though I nicely asked Carol for a sample of it as I checked out and she very sweetly gave it. It is a calming and toothsome blend of arctic peppermint, coconut, vanilla, creme de menthe and more! Divinity itself.

I also got a sample of Twisted Peppermint which sent me into raptures. A strong minty delight doubled up with vanilla and musk. Blissful!

Thar she be in all her glory. Probably one of my best Candles From The Keeping Room orders to date. I went all in and now I have brilliant scents to melt all through Christmas and winter and more. Carol's tarts have the longevity of a kale eating runner and will last me a few years at least. If I don't melt through them, which I will. Oh! Prices! All tarts bags are 6 ounces or more and cost $5.25, the Santa was $4.50 and the cake cuttable was $3.50. Shipping for this >gulp< 14 pound order was $16.56. 

Did you order from this last opening? Will you order from her next and last one of the year? Is it bonkers for me to be excited about her first opening of 2017?! Probably, but curly candle smelling hair don't care. 


Monday, November 21, 2016

Melting Basket 78: Thanksgiving and Fall Fun Series


Tarts from the last basket I enjoyed and would buy again include: CFTKR Woodland Foliage and Blood Orange Patchouli, Dessa's Cranberry Spice, LSC Patchouli Honey, TBG Faded Opulence and Widow's Walk.

Here are the scents I have curated for my Thanksgiving week festivities:

CFTKR- Pumpkin Wreath
CFTKR- Butternut Pumpkin
CFTKR- Frost on the Pumpkin
CFTKR- Spiced Cranberries
Satin Suzie- Pumpkin Pie
Satin Suzie- Nutmeg & Ginger
Sugar & Spice- Pumpkins in the Fire/Cinnamon Sticks
The Bathing Garden- Victorian Midway
Country Lane Keepsakes- Picking Pumpkins

If there are any scents from this new basket you would like me to review, please let me know which ones below. 

Today is a dual Melting Basket and Fall Fun Series post. You now know what I will be melting, now let me show you one of our traditions...

November 1st harkens the come back of our annual Thankful Tree. Each of us gets a unique color/pattern leaf and we all write one thing we are thankful for each day leading up to Thanksgiving and tape it onto the tree.


I love seeing what the girls and Adam write every year. Some things stay the same and others a new. Savanna used to write various types of dinosaurs. Pets and friends and family always appear. Toilets and doors are new this year. It is wonderful to be grateful every day of the year but to focus on it in this way is enjoyable for us too. 


I am thankful for the friends I have made and people I have met through this blog and Instagram and Facebook. You guys bring a smile to my face often. 

What are you thankful for right now? I hope this week is a beautiful one for you. Do you have your Thanksgiving wax or candles picked out yet? What aroma will be gracing your home? Any Thanksgiving traditions?

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Lush: The Night Before Christmas (Twilight!)


It has been a long time since I have posted anything new from Lush. I have used up all but one giant shower gel of Rose Jam from my Boxing Day hauls last year. I am out of bombs, melts and bubble bars and all those Yuletide goodies. On a recent trip to the mall Adam asked if there was anything from Lush I wanted. Twilight pinged in my brain. And there was only one gift box that had Twilight in it...


The Night Before Christmas is $15.95 and houses an UBER mini Twilight shower gel and a pot of Sleep hand and body cream that carries the same Twilight scent. I thought $16 wasn't too bad (thinking it had the 3 ounce small shower gel) but it is even smaller than that. It is 2 ounces. 


The wrapping is cute. I love the touches like that. Makes these boxes perfect for gift giving.


It has been far too long since I have had Twilight shower gel in my life. The last time I had it, the gel was full of silvery glitter and was a truer shade of purple. This one leans more burgundy or merlot with no glitter to be seen. Still the same great lavender and vanilla musk with light floral tones. 


Sleepy smells just as amazing and has a nice consistency and emollient properties. 

I do think $16 is a bit steep for the little squirt that is the shower gel but if any are left over for Boxing Day I will try and get them for half price. 

I placed two orders from Lush UK recently. You can't beat the exchange rate. One was a gift and the other was for Hot Toddy. Do you like Twilight? What is your favorite Lush scent? Will you grab anything from the Boxing Day sale this year?

Friday, November 18, 2016

Fall Fun Series: Sparkling Amber Candle


This is the second year I have bought and burned Sparkling Amber from Bath & Body Works. A wax pool forms quickly and deeply with strong wicks and an even burn. The throw is medium, soft in the rooms but noticeable and pleasant without being obnoxious. Sparkling Amber is not a powdery or resinous amber but rather sweet and vanilla filled. Fluid and silky. I love it.  


Probably not a tradition fall candle for most people but I quite enjoy the delicate warmth it brings into my home this time of year. I bought this for around $8 during a candle sale with an additional discount using a coupon. Well worth it and a repurchase indeed. 

Are you burning any candles right now? I have a Marshmallow Fireside that is struggling like mad in my bedroom. The one with the girl blowing snow flakes from her mittens into the camera. Ugh. Such a sad Sally. I am thinking of cutting it up and melting it in my warmers if it doesn't tighten up. 

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Just Because


Just because:

I only have one post in the queue and it is for tomorrow's Fall Fun Series.

It is a Sandhill Crane that let me get this close, and the girls too, before it scared the poop out of us by raising up and flapping it wings at us while we hollered and scuttled our booties back over to our house. 

Sometimes a pick-me-up is called for. 

Just because.


Have a good day, friends.


Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Melting Basket 77


Wax tarts from the last basket I would and probably will buy again include: FuturePrimitive Pumpkin Eater, Glitterati Pink Marshmallow Fireside, Beezy Amish Quilt, CFTKR Fall Wreath and Sticky Cinnamon Buns, LSC Cabin Fever, S&S Celtic Marshmallow Fireside, Universal Voodoo Wayward Gravy, TBG Pumpkin Spice. 
Whew. That was a heavy hitting basket of great ones.

This week I will be melting a motley assortment:
CFTKR- Woodland Foliage
CFTKR- Blood Orange Patchouli
Dessa's- Cedar Wood
Dessa's- Spiced Orange Pomander
Dessa's- Cranberry Spice
Lasting Scent Candles- Exotic Myst
Lasting Scent Candles- Patchouli Honey
Universal Voodoo- Beaten Path
The Bathing Garden- Widow's Walk
The Bathing Garden- Faded Opulence
Sniff My Tarts- Serendipity Marshmallow Smoothie/VBN/Spearmint
Sugar & Spice- Country Christmas/Cinnamon Sticks/Gingerbread Apple Cake
Vintage Chic Scents- White Zombie (mac apple birthday cake whipped cream) <3 gift
Vintage Chic Scents- Milk Glass (wild berry cake batter sugar milk) <3 gift
Vintage Chic Scents- Jackie O (marshmallow birthday cake vanilla bean noel) <3 gift
Pour Girl's- Pinkmary Mint <3 gift and my very first Pour Girl's

If you would like any of these scents reviewed in depth, please let me know which ones in the comments section. 



Guys. Only one week of school left before Thanksgiving Break. 


We picked up our turkey and a few supplies. I am still not 100% sure what I will be cooking but I am looking forward to it. There is a mild bit of family drama that keeps niggling the back of my mind over a miscommunication back in September that just won't heal. I have offered my apologies but they are being ignored. 


My husband keeps telling me to not let it bother me but it does. I hate the feeling of not being forgiven. Of rifts not being repaired. But if I have learned anything through marriage class, it is that you cannot change anyone but yourself. So I just need to let it go. If they wish to be in the same room with me once again, I guess it will happen. I just need to learn to be ok with it if it doesn't. 


So I resort back to counting my blessings and trying not to dwell on the negatives. Speaking of counting blessings... the next melting basket, the Thanksgiving one, will feature our family's Thankful Tree. 

In the meantime I will be petting and squeezing on this furry friend. And engaging in some retail therapy. I may have placed my most epic Candles From The Keeping Room order to date. And I ordered a little from Rosegirls and my first Candy Panda scrub. I hope your week is beautiful my dears. 

Monday, November 14, 2016

Fall Fun Series: FuturePrimitive Wax Melts


This post in the Fall Fun Series is to highlight a new wax vendor. Technically FuturePrimitive is not new to the wax tart game, but it has been a few years since she stocked wax in her store. Once Tiggy spilled the beans that she was pouring wax again I was over the moon. I ordered a small handful of scents to start. These tarts weighed between 0.7 and 0.8 ounces each and came housed in a nifty cup with an attached lid. Probably my favorite type of scent shot cup to date. The tarts are 1.75 pounds each, or about $2.15, which is higher than the average vendor wax but not out of my personal realm of comfort. Shipping was 7.80 pounds.


Tiggy not only featured an Autumn release but she has her General Catalog scents included in wax format as well. I ordered a few from both collections.


Festival  is a hippy scent lover's delight. Dark, herbal patchouli infused with incense and nag champa. Smoky, resinous and delightful. (General Catalog) It throws strong and even drew Savanna into my bedroom to exclaim "What smells so good?! Are you burning incense?!" My little joss stick girl. I will be loading up on these bad boys. 


Bell, Book & Candle remains on of my favorite bath time scents, a cauldron full of patchouli, jasmine, sandalwood and musk. In the wax version the jasmine really blooms. Stunning. (General Catalog)

The Gloaming was part of the Autumn release and is a spooky rendition of marshmallow, campfire and chilly winds carrying the promise of snow. A sweet ozonic version of Marshmallow Fireside. So unique and perfect. It has me dreaming of a peppermint marshmallow fireside blend. Why have I not done that yet?! (Autumn Release)


Sparklebox shines with oranges, amber and vanilla. An adult version of a Dreamsicle. (General Catalog) I enjoyed melting this in my bedroom and got a medium throw from it.


Rook & Raven features similar notes as Sparklebox with its orange and vanilla pairing, but with added sandalwood and patchouli, this one is much more dark and earthy. They smell nothing alike. I do prefer the Rook & Raven duskiness out of the two. (General Catalog)

Graveyard is no longer on the scent list for Autumn but I think it had to be there since I did pick it up. It is one of those loamy soil scents, writhing with pink and grey glistening earthworms, moss and decayed leaves, yellowing flower petals and salty tears. (Autumn Release)


Free samples in:

Pumpkin Eater with baked pumpkin, maple and pumpkin spice frosting. Not too sweet or too spicy. The pumpkin maple combination stands out the most and smells delicious. This one ounce wee one gave a strong throw in my bedroom. Absolutely divine.

Blood made me curious and I sheepishly requested a small sniff of it and Tiggy generously acquiesced. Plum wine mulled with spices is sweet, deep and makes my mouth water. My kind of fruit for sure.

I am totally stoked Tiggy is making wax. I am in love and will be buying more. She has just the earthy and sophisticatedly dark scents I crave. 

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Imaginary Authors: Cape Heartache


Imaginary Authors is an artisan perfume house with an interesting concept. Josh Meyer, the perfumer behind the house, constructs scents based on fictional narratives that he composes. Each scent is a book, or story, in a dual fictional sense. 

Cape Heartache- Notes: Douglas fir, pine resin, Western Hemlock, vanilla leaf, strawberry, old growth, mountain fog.
This one, she is a beaut. Sweet sugary evergreens greet the nose with Candy Land nostalgia. The pine comes forth pungent and sharp with sticky sap and a hit of camphor but quickly calms into soft heartwood and tiny wild strawberries. This dulcet strawberry woods endures for the duration on my skin. Love to pieces.


An additional generous free sample was included with my Cape Heartache order:

Violet Disguise- Notes: Plum, violet, dried fruits, balsam, amber, evening air and the month of May.
Fizzy bubbles of violet plum soda pop tickle the nose in the top notes then fall away to silvery balsam silhouettes embossed against the plush blue velvet of night sky. Airy, musky, smooth. A beautiful scent.  

I bought several of the Cape Heartache when Imaginary Authors had a $1 sample sale recently. Samples are normally $6 each (2 ml), 14 ml travelers are around $38 and full sized 50 ml bottles are about $95 and look incredibly cool. I will without a doubt be adding Cape Heartache to my fragrance collection in either a traveler or a full sized in the near future. 

Friday, November 11, 2016

Fall Fun Series: Autumn Body Care


I had dreams of this post containing a few favorites for fall: FuturePrimitive soaps, Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Butters and a whipped soap or glace' from Solstice Scents but time got away from me and I missed most of the things I was eyeing and look... now the Yule releases are being announced! In the end I did grab these two soaps from FuturePrimitive. These two soaps from her Autumn Release are long gone but she does have some incredible sounding Halloween soaps on clearance, including one named Eleven that houses notes of spruce, fir and vanilla that honors "Stranger Things." 


Owlett's End is an old favorite of mine. I love the rustic chai spices and scrubby nature of this soap. I don't even bother cutting slivers, I want all the soap to satisfy that dry weather itch. In fact, this is my current bar in rotation by the bath tub. I will be honest. The single black eyed pea and wheat head made me order it in the first place many moons ago. I tickles me that Tiggy still makes them this way. 


I don't recall having tried Pumpkin 'ead before now. It has a pretty mellow scent of caramel and amber with woods and a hint of pumpkin to my nose. I love it.


So those are the contents of my meager but lovely fall body care stash. I did use up my Bathing Garden Pumpkin and Toxic Earth scrubs. 

Wax melts I am loving:
Universal Voodoo Wayward Gravy
FuturePrimitive Pumpkin Eater
Beezy Amish Quilt
CFTKR Caramel Spice

Do you wear fall body scents? Tomorrow Carol will be opening at Candles From The Keeping Room, will you order? I plan on trying to squeeze in a Christmas tart order. Did you order from Rosegirls yesterday? I had to grab a half pie in Peppermint Coconut Mallow and a bag or two and a muffin. I did behave. I had quite the cart going buy pulled back. This time of year I try to focus my budget on gift giving since I do pretty well spoiling myself the rest of the year. 

Have a nice weekend, friends.